


Matter of Memories, A

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Episode Tag, Episode: s05e09 Abu el Banat, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-01-15
Updated: 2004-01-15
Packaged: 2019-05-15 13:24:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14791320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: J/D  post-epAbu el Banat





	Matter of Memories, A

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

**A Matter of Memories**

**by:** Annmarie  


**Category/Pairing:** J/D  post-ep " _Abu el Banat_ "  
**Rating:** TEEN  
**Spoilers:** Through " _Abu el Banat_ "  
**Disclaimer:** They are not now nor have they ever been mine.  
**Notes:** My love for Janel Moloney and Donna Moss knows no bounds (and I'm a straight woman) and Disaster Relief just cemented that love.  
**Feedback:** Like holly and mistletoe, makes the holidays merry!  
**Author's Note:** Well, I am COMPLETELY snowed in, nearly 2 feet of snow piled up outside my apartment window, so I figured I'd write what I know... 

This follows my last 2 post-eps, "A Matter of Time" and "A Matter of Value", but all you need to know is that J&D are together now, which makes it AU. 

"The roads are impassable Josh." 

"We'll walk," Josh replied into the phone balanced against his shoulder as he laced his boots. 

"Yeah, that's what I need, the two of you getting killed by a passing snow plow," Leo sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. 

"Hey, Donna is from Wisconsin, I'm sure she can protect me from killer snow removal vehicles," Josh chuckled and ended the call before Leo could protest further. 

"You ready?" Donna asked as she tugged on her gloves. 

"Why yes Heidi, I think we can make it to Grandfather's house," Josh smirked at her. 

"Are you mocking me?" Donna glared as she looked at her winter finery. 

"You look very, Nordic?" Josh tried. 

"But these are pretty sexy," he tugged on the two braids that peeked out from under the red wool hat. 

"Work Josh, we are going to work," Donna chastised but allowed him a quick kiss before throwing his gloves at him. 

The storm had started around 10:00 PM the night before and Josh and Donna were shocked to find nearly 10 inches of snow on the ground at 8:00 the next morning. The forecast was for another 20 inches by the end of the weekend. 

Josh had decided they would walk into the White House now, handle any crises and pack up some work to bring back to the apartment. Donna had braved the pre-storm mania at the grocery store and they were both looking forward to returning to the warm toasty apartment later in the day. 

******* 

Josh's superintendent hadn't started shoveling yet and the granite steps in front of his building resembled a ski slope more than a staircase. Donna held onto the railing and Josh held on to Donna and without serious injury the two slid to the sidewalk in record time. 

"That's the closest I've come to sledding in 15 years," Josh grinned when they righted themselves at the base of the stairs. 

"Fifteen years ago you were 25," Donna grinned. 

"Law school," Josh shrugged. 

"Is that why you don't actually understand the law?" Donna furrowed her brow. 

"Do you want your Christmas gift or not?" Josh tried to threaten. 

"Your gift-related threats have not worked on me yet," Donna sassed and turned to walk toward the White House, her braids swishing along with her. 

Josh trudged to catch up with her, his lungs protesting the bitter cold air. 

"Is it usually this cold when it snows?" he wheezed. 

"No, the weatherman said it was unusually cold," Donna answered and looked a little concerned. 

"You OK?" she asked as she stopped and ran a hand along his red cheeks. 

She kissed his cheek and warmed him slightly before taking his hand and slowing her pace to accommodate his damaged lungs. 

The sidewalks were fairly passable. They weren't shoveled yet, but the snow was fluffy and not particularly slippery. They stopped halfway to the White House for coffee, but took it to go so they didn't have to strip off all their outerwear. 

"Two weeks Donna," Josh mentioned lightly. 

"I know," she smiled and her face glowed with cold and holiday spirit. 

"Are you sure you don't want to go home?" 

"Yes I'm sure, and if you ask me that again I'm going to think you're trying to get rid of me," she swatted him with her gloved-hand. 

"Donna trust me when I tell you I want you with me just about every minute of every day. I just, well, I just feel like you missed a few Christmases because of me," without realizing it he glanced at his palm, covered with fleece and leather and shivered. 

"Well, I'm spending Christmas with you, so deal with it," she chuckled and changed the subject with her regular ease. 

******* 

"Do you want the research on 486?" Donna yelled from her desk. 

"Nah, just 454, that should be enough for a day and a half," he hollered back. 

"You two know your phones have intercoms on them?" CJ asked as she peeked her head in on her way past. 

"You're still here?" Josh's eyes went wide with concern. 

"Leo's driver is taking me home in a few minutes," CJ responded as her eyes drifted past Josh's head to the near white-out conditions outside his window. 

"We must have hitched the same ride. Leo forbid us to walk home," as the reality of the situation sunk in Josh's face took on a pained expression. 

"I'll be ready in two minutes," CJ announced and walked briskly toward her office. 

"CJ is coming in the car with us?" Donna was at the door to Josh's office in a second. 

"Yeah," Josh sighed, "I really hoped we could it make through New Year's before having this conversation. 

"We'll just tell her I'm working at your place," Donna shrugged. 

"And Simon Legree lives. I'm making you work during a blizzard?" 

"You ARE making me work during a blizzard," Donna pointed out. 

"Well yes, 454 has to be finished by Tuesday, but I am also making you a complicated and delicious dinner," Josh grinned. 

"Lasagna is not complicated," Donna laughed. 

"It must be layered just perfectly or it's slop, with cheese on it," he smiled affectionately at her. 

"Put cheese on just about anything and I'll love it," Donna answered absently as she finished putting files in Josh's messenger bag. 

When she looked up he had a look on his face that she knew meant he was considering how to add cheese to their sex lives. 

"Come on cheese boy," she smacked him and dragged him by the hand to their coats. 

The promise of a warm car and door-to-door service kept the bundling to a minimum and Donna just hung her scarf around her neck and Josh had to fight every urge in his body to tug her scarf towards him and kiss her soundly in the middle of the bullpen. 

CJ singing "Jingle Bells" shook the image from his mind and instead he took the bag from her and escorted her toward the Northwest Lobby. 

Josh's apartment was the closest to the White House, so the driver went there first. The driver was obviously more informed than CJ as he came around the car and held the door with one hand while offering the other to Donna. 

The snow bank on Josh's sidewalk was nearly to Donna's hip and she stood there with a quizzical look on her face. It wasn't nearly as quizzical a look as CJ had on hers and she fixed a glare on Josh that said a thousand things at once. 

"Soon CJ," he smiled and hopped out of the car. 

Josh thanked the driver and watched as the car pulled slowly down the street. It was the only car on the street and for just a second Josh closed his eyes and let the snow fall all around him. 

"I love the first snow," he mentioned casually, "it's the 9th and 10th snow I'm not so fond of." 

"Do you see a break in this bank?" Donna asked as she looked down the sidewalk. 

"No," Josh announced. 

"OK, well," Donna puzzled some more. 

The snow bank was hip high and at least a 2 feet wide. There was no way she could step over it. She hitched one leg up on the bank and then pivoted, but even with years of gymnastics training she was not flexible enough to reach the sidewalk. 

"Having a problem there Donnatella?" Josh laughed as he watched her maneuver the mountainous bank. 

"I'd like to see you do better," she pointed to the offending obstacle. 

"Come here," he pulled her hand to him and kissed her softly, brushing the accumulated snow from the top of her head. 

He turned her back to his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He then backed up to the snow bank, sat on it and spun them both around. He inched toward the other side until his legs hung over and he helped Donna down before hopping off himself. 

"Huh?" he spun around to indicate their new location. 

"Not bad, but now you're all dirty and wet," she wiped at the muddy snow on the back of his pants. 

"I guess I'll just have to get out of these wet clothes," he smirked before kissing her again. 

********* 

"Do you need me to turn up the heat?" Josh chuckled as he watched her. 

Donna was curled at the end of the couch, clad in his flannel pajamas and her snowman socks. She had a cup of hot tea clutched between her hands and Josh's handmade afghan over her legs. She still had the braids in her hair. 

"No, I'm actually a little warm," she shrugged. 

"I knew you were overdressed," he grinned as he sat next to her and began unbuttoning the pajama top. 

"I thought you were assembling dinner," Donna tried to wiggle out of his grasp without spilling her scalding hot tea on him. 

"Let me put that safely on the table," Josh took the sloshing beverage and placed it out of reach before burrowing under the afghan with Donna. 

"Dinner?" she asked between kisses. 

"In the oven, at least 40 minutes," he answered in between nips at her warm skin. 

Donna slid down, flat on her back and turned to face Josh, the afghan pulled up to their chins. 

"You warm now?" she asked as she ran her hands down his back and over his ass. 

"Quite," he answered with a grin as he buried his head in the crook of her neck. 

Donna kissed his forehead and wrapped her arms around him, neither one of them talking or moving. They must have fallen asleep quickly because Donna felt she was in a deep sleep when the buzzer sounded on the oven. 

Donna slid out from under Josh, who was slowly coming awake. 

"I'll get it," she whispered against his ear and kissed him softly. 

Donna pulled the lasagna from the oven and placed it on a pot holder on the counter. She sliced a loaf of bread and opened a bottle of wine. 

Josh stumbled into the kitchen with the afghan wrapped around his shoulder and hugged her from behind. In his hand was a small silver foil wrapped box with a blue bow on it. 

"I can wait," Donna chuckled. 

"I can't," Josh shrugged. 

Josh placed the package in her hand and took the wine and glasses and went back to the living room. 

Josh sat on the couch and Donna curled up next to him. He poured some wine and handed her a glass. 

"I have some other things for Christmas morning, from me and Mom, but I thought now was an appropriate time for you to open this," Josh pointed to the small package. 

Donna didn't ask any questions as she tore into the pretty foil paper to reveal the standard black velvet jewelry box. She cracked open the hinged top and the light in the room caught and sparkled against the sterling silver snowflake inside. 

Donna touched the delicate silver charm and pulled the necklace from the box, it was an intricately beautiful piece of jewelry that Donna knew was not inexpensive. She appeared to be speechless and Josh was momentarily unsure. Then she noticed the small scrap of paper in the box. 

"No snow flake ever falls in the wrong place," she read Josh's chicken scratch and looked up at him with a brilliant smile. 

"You remember?" he asked hesitantly. 

"How could I possibly forget?" she shook her head and kissed him softly. 

"I know we have different winter holidays Donna, I know we have different traditions, but the holidays were never the same for me after my sister died, for any of us really, but then I met you," he reached a finger out to touch the snowflake. 

"I thought you thought I was crazy that night," Donna giggled remembering their first Christmas Eve. 

"We were all crazy that night Donna, we had just won a Presidential election, we had an Inauguration to prepare for and we were outside CJ's unfurnished apartment making snow angels," Josh laughed. 

"I love it," she smiled," and I love you, I think I did back then too." 

"I know I did," Josh kissed her tenderly. 

"Dinner will keep for a little bit," Donna murmured against his lips. 

"It sure will," Josh nodded enthusiastically, "what did you have in mind?" 

Donna leaned her body against his, her hand falling gently in his lap, her lips trailing light kisses from his lips to his ear. 

"Snow angels," she whispered seductively. 

The End

**Sequel: "A Matter of Health"**


End file.
